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Monday, 16 November 2015

FCO urges Brits to 'exercise caution' following Paris murders

A THREE-DAY period of mourning is under way in #France after a series of terrorist attacks in the country’s capital killed 129 people and injured hundreds.

Following the massacre, France’s government declared a state of emergency and Britain’s #Foreign&CommonwealthOffice (FCO) advised UK nationals to ‘exercise caution in public places’.

It added: ‘French authorities have heightened security measures due to a risk of further attacks. The advice of the Paris Police is currently to keep movement around town to a minimum. Systematic border control checks have been implemented at all entry points into France.’

Attractions and monuments, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, closed over the weekend, as did Disneyland Paris, which will remain closed until Wednesday.

Responding to the tragedy, a number of other travel companies issued statements and advice:

Airlines, Eurostar, and Disneyland Paris were all offering flexibility for customers booked to travel over the weekend.Flybe said it would continue to accommodate customers following the attacks and on Sunday issued a further statement that it was extending its flexibility for a further two days for those who wished to change their travel plans.The statement said: ‘Any customer who is booked to travel to Paris on Monday or Tuesday and who doesn’t wish to now do so may re-book a later date to any alternative destination or obtain a credit note for future travel.’

BMI Regional is also offering customers flying between Bristol and Paris the option to re-schedule or cancel future flights to the French capital.

Eurostar advised passengers to check in 60 minutes before departure. Security was increased across all departure points.

P&O Ferries: ‘We would like to re-assure all our customers that we maintain a safe, reliable, and secure service to/from France. Due to adverse weather conditions some services are subject to delay of up to 20 minutes. Please check in as normal.’

DFDS Seaways: ‘Please allow extra time for your journey and expect increased security checks, Dover-Dunkirk-Dover services are operating to the advertised schedule with space currently available. Dover-Calais-Dover services are operating with around 60 minutes delays due to weather conditions in the channel.’

Brittany Ferries: ‘At present, our ships continue to operate as normal. There may be some additional security checks but at present check-in times remain unchanged.’

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle: ‘Our service is operating as planned. However, due to reinforced border checks, customers travelling should allow extra time.’

easyJet: ‘Our schedule will operate as normal. However we would advise that all passengers due to fly with us check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker page at www.easyjet.com/en/flight-trackerfor real-time information before going to the airport and to allow extra time for security checks due to the reinforced security measures in place. easyJet will continue to comply with all recommendations and guidance from the French authorities."

British Airways: ‘We continue to monitor the situation in Paris after attacks in the city on Friday.The French government has asked for extra security checks at all airports in the country, and this may lead to delays to flights from France.’Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk